Many of the names of the accused scout leaders were published by the LA Times in its "perversion files" series in 2012.
But the work to digitize and catalog the once-secret trove continued.
According to attorney Jeff Anderson, "There are 12,254 victims of childhood sexual abuse in those files," at the hands of more than 7,800 adults since 1944.
"They never alerted the community that your neighbor, your teacher, your electrician, your priest, and there are a lot of priests in there, who are Boy Scout leaders also are in the perversion files," Anderson added.
"We had a right to our innocence. These men took it away," said lawyer Greg Gianforcaro.
Gianforcaro hails a bill that would allow people sexually abused as children a two-year window of opportunity to file civil lawsuits, easing New Jersey's statute of limitations.
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The governor is considering whether to make it law.
"It's about restoring their voice," Gianforcaro said.
In a statement, the Boy Scouts of America says in part, "We believe victims, we support them, and we have paid for unlimited counseling by a provider of their choice. Nothing is more important than the safety and protection of children in Scouting and we are outraged that there have been times when individuals took advantage of our programs to abuse innocent children."